The urge to travel had begun to gnaw a little on Tristaanian's insides, for a reason he couldn't quite put a finger on. He had come to enjoy the quick-on-your-feet, rough-and-tumble pace of Old Rose, even if he didn't have a home of his own, but figured there were plenty of interesting other places out there he still hadn't seen. Granted, he'd passed through quite a few places across Anaxas while traveling with the Red Crow wicks who took him in for a time, but ever since he left the Soot District in Vienda as a youth, wandering became enjoyable.

Traveling on foot was an option, or even finding a caravan to escort for some pay, but Tristaan had considered for some time that a nice Moa would probably be a useful and companionable investment. Saving had been a bit difficult at times, but he finally figured he had enough coin in his pocket to strike up a deal in the Trader's Market without getting taken for too much of a ride ((no pun intended ... much)).



It was another decidedly busy day at the market, and Tristaan enjoyed the opportunity to wander the crowds and observe the myriad of people while searching for a reliable mount.

A man who had been walking directly in front of Tristaanian suddenly crouched down and held his head. He didn't make a sound but a few people turned to look: It was like a tree had just collapsed in the street. He pulled his coat close to him so as to minimize the obstruction, but seemed unable to move himself. Tentatively, he reached up to rub his temples.

Lost in thought, or at least in the crowd, Tristaan wasn't really looking straight ahead. If he was looking anywhere at all, it was certainly not to avoid sudden obstacles, and so when Endo abruptly crouched a few paces ahead of the market-browsing passive, he had no time to stop himself from totally tripping over him. With only a warning squawk from his whice as the bird flew from his hat, Tristaan all but plowed into the crouching man from behind.

Calli had been in search of lunch for about half an hour and it was making her grumpy. She'd wandered into the markets in hope of finding some new slippers for performing in and she'd been unable to find any of those either.

Calli heard a loud warning squawk and spun on one foot, looking for the disturbance.

She saw Tristaan fall base over apex into Endo.

"Guys!" She shouted, though possibly not loud enough to have been heard over the crowd.

She jogged over to them, ready to distribute little pink crow hugs.

Endo winced as he felt a body fall against him. Still, he did not move, and remained in a crouched position with his hands clasped over his face. He heard the whice squawk as if it were a mile away, not right on top of him, and was aware of a familiar voice calling out.

It took a moment for the pain in his head to subside. As soon as he could bear the brightness of the day, he drew back his hands and turned around.

"I'm so sorry," He said, placing a hand on Tristaanian's shoulder, the other drifting to his own forehead, "Are you hurt?"

Cursing under his breath for his carelessness, Tristaan scrambled to sit up, reaching for his hat as the crowds continued to press by to keep it from getting trampled underfoot. Unhurt except for perhaps some pride, he sat up on his haunches, reaching behind him to adjust the sword over his shoulder before turning his attention on the poor man he totally plowed into.



Tristaan shook his head, trying to steady the man, "No, kov. Epaemo ... I'm sorry. I ran into you. I wasn't looking..." He scowled, looking sideways in personal embarrassment, "I should be the one asking if you're okay. Did I hit you in the head?" The passive looked concerned.



"Hesta!" Squawked Smirk as Calli approached, taking the liberty to land on her head as if he already knew what he was doing, "Guys!" He repeated happily, in almost a perfect rendition of her voice.

Tristaanian looked over Endo's shoulder in surprise, waiting for his answer, and saw Calli approaching. Where did she come from? Why was his whice on her head? He couldn't help but notice she looked familiar, but he wasn't sure if it was just from all the confusion at the moment.

Endo shook his head, smiling.

"No you didn't. I had a headache."

They were on their feet now. Following Tristaanian's gaze, Endo turned to see a young girl moving towards them against the crowd. A whice whipped past and landed on her head.

"Calliope." Said Endo, to himself rather than in greeting. When he met her eyes he gestured to his head and smiled sadly. She knew of his crippling headaches.

He stood to the side, diverting the flow of people and allowing the two to see eachother. He thought the passive may well need to apologise for his bird.

Tristaan rubbed the back of his neck in relief, standing and offering assistance to Endo, "Aye, well, I apologize for not looking out for ya there."



Tristaan frowned at Smirk taking off on his own, but knew the runty whice was often a magnet for trouble. He cocked an eyebrow as Endo spoke the name of the approaching young woman. He had heard that name before, and it was none too long ago.



When he got a better look at her, Tristaan clocked his brain to remember where he had seen her, mulling her name over in his mind. "Junta!" He said in surprise, smiling and realizing his own bird-brained whice apparently had a better memory than himself ...

Calli laughed as the whice landed on her head, reaching up to scratch it on the shoulder.



Calli's face fell a little when she saw Endo point at his head.

"Oh! Uncle Endo!" She said, voice wavering just a little, she slowed down so she could hug him more gently than she'd been originally planning. "I missed you!"

She held on for a moment, bird still on top of her head. Then she let go, took a step back and launched herself bodily at Tristaan.

"Tristaaaaaannnnn!" She shouted joyously and loudly, bear hugging him.

Family was everything to a wick and as far as she was concerned, they were family.

As soon as he heard his name, he realized exactly who Calli was with a bit of surprise ... noting that she had grown into a sprightly young woman since he had drifted from the Red Crow. With a grin, he returned the hug, "Junta, young Calli!" He had forgotten what it felt like to feel family.

It had been a handful of years since he had seen her last, and he chucked when he saw she was almost his height, "By Alioe, child, you have grown! What are you doing out on your own ... in a place like Old Rose?" Tristaan reached to pluck Smirk from her hair, much to the whice's chirpy protest.

Calli giggled joyously, almost vibrating with unspent energy. She puffed up her chest a bit, enjoying Tristaan's attention.

"I joined a circus!" She said, partly in response to his question and partly because she wanted to tell everyone, "I came to Old Rose with uncle and some of the tribe, you should come see everyone!"

She looked between Endo and Tristaan, beaming.

"Where have you both been? Have you done interesting things?" She asked. Calli cared about journeys, she thought they were important.

Endo stooped to return the hug, encompassing Smirk by laying a hand on his colourful plumage.



Endo looked between them, his face creased in a smile.



"No," Endo chuckled, looking to Tristaanian. He very much wanted to ask Calliope all about the circus.

Tristaan raised an eyebrow at the mention of a circus, but smiled at the thought of reuniting with Red Crow friends, catching up on some happenings around Anaxas from their travels, "I would benny well enjoy that."



He wondered if Endo was really as boring as his no implied, but knew well enough himself that there were some things not always worth telling. He tilted his head slightly to the sword at his back and tried to look dangerous, "Interesting things? Not unless you count earning ging by playing muscle for others ... if those others aren't afraid of you." The passive shrugged. Work had been slow because of his race, he supposed.

People pressed and hurried back and forth around them in the Trader's Market, and it was loud with cries of hand-woven basket bargains and one-time only special offers on fattened hingle. Tristaan had seen enough of the stalls to know he probably wouldn't be finding that perfect Moa he was looking for anyway, and he quietly wondered if anyone else was standing around thirsty or with an empty stomach.

"Why don't you tell us about the circus ...?" He looked at Endo, "Over a drink, perhaps?" He smiled again, feeling generous at the fortune of finding good conversation, "Or something to eat on my coin?"

"I'm not afraid of you!" Cried Calli, with painful earnestness, "I love you, like so so much!"

She hugged him again to prove her point, then let go and hugged Endo again, gingerly, so he wouldn't feel left out.



Calli was torn for a moment, she was a growing lass and the prospect of food at lunchtime was heartening. Then again, she did want to tell the all about her new circus friends... Even the strange, scary boys that she didn't know what to do with.

"Food." She said after a moment of deliberation, "You can get good rolls near here!"

She jumped in the air once, hands held high.

"I'm so excited to see you guys!"

Despite his purposefully toughened exterior, Tristaan couldn't help but soften into a blush at the youthful, genuine attention. Fleetingly, he wondered why he drifted from the Red Crow that made up Calli's family in the first place, but some of the tribal fighting and fear of whatever magic was inside happening at the wrong moment came flooding back as his reasons. He smiled anyway, willing to enjoy the moment.



"Aye, it's benny to see you, too, beata. I take it you know this poor kov I trampled underfoot?" He kept his smile, turning and sticking out a calloused but slim-fingered hand in Endo's direction, "Unless Calli hasn't made it clear, I'm Tristaan." Without his hat and with his cloak unbuttoned to his shoulders, his features revealed a galdor lineage, but his grey eyes held no sign of magic, "I'm usually not known for such rough introductions."

When Tristaanian held out a hand Endo clasped it purposefully, but as carefully as a broken wing, and regarded the young man for a moment.

"I am glad to have met you, Tristaanian. It is not often I make a friend out my headaches - one or two enemies maybe," His voice was almost lost to the market din, "I would like to get something to eat and drink, so I can hear all about you," He laid a hand on Calli's shoulder, "And you Calliope."

Endo lugged a sack that had been leaning against his shins up onto his shoulder.

"Yes I believe there is somewhere we can sit and eat... rolls." He laughed softly and led the way.

"Are your parents well?" He said to Calliope as they walked, fingers fidgeting with the strap of his bag.

Calli bounced happily as she walked, always happy to bump into people.

"Ma and Da are fine last I heard, I got a letter last week!" Calli said grinning, "Apparently all the whice they were breeding got mixed up with someone elses' and now we have rainbow baby birds."

Tristaan smiled back as they walked, keeping to himself that a mix up of whices must be common enough, since his own feathered friend had plenty of colors. It was good to hear of her family; he enjoyed his time with the Red Crow and respected the risk they took for themselves when they agreed to let a passive travel in their carts. He preferred not to think about the life he might of had without the kindness of wicks.

"You will have to tell your Da and Daoa I said hello in your next letter. I'm sure it will surprise them that you've run into me again. Do they know about you joining a circus?"

The three of them came upon a stall on a grassy knoll, up off of the street, like an island surrounded by a tide of market goers. Endo, like moses himself, could part the sea with a turn of his imposing body. People changed direction or even stopped to wait for him to move past.



"Tell them the same from me, and that I am hoping to visit them when time permits."

He chose a table where one corner fell under the shade of the stall canopy, and pulled up chairs for each of them, placing himself out of the glare of the sun. He was often torn between seeking heat and avoiding the light, which only made his headaches more severe.



"And do they mind it?" Added Endo, who wasn't sure what joining a circus entailed, but was never pleased when animals were forced to perform.

Calli nodded, basking in their attention like a lizard in the sun.





Calli rubbed her hand through her hair sheepishly.

"Oes..." She said, looking down because she knew she'd some very serious wrong by wick standards, "I thought I'd forgotten to tell some people. I really should let Uncle know before I go."

She smiled the smile of the wet puppy. Calli let loose a small, weak laugh, trying to get the heat off unsuccessfully.

"Um, the kovs I'll be living with seem really nice though!" Calli said, not quite realising that two male relatives might take issue to a seventeen year old living with a group of unfamiliar men.

Tristaanian remained standing, offering to tuck Calli into her chair at the table while looking down from their shady spot for the vendor of these mysteriously delicious rolls.


The passive nodded, "They'll worry for you somethin' mant if you don't tell 'em."


At her last comment, Tristaan raised a delicate eyebrow and tried not to scowl, "The kovs?" He tilted his head and softened his voice in a brotherly, protective tone, "Surely there's some chips in this ... er ... circus besides yourself, right?" He could only imagine the mindset of circus travelers, let alone any kov from Old Rose Harbor, and the thought of a young woman traveling alone made him uncomfortable.

Calli sat down on the chair Tristaanian pulled out for her, almost purring at the special treatment.



Calli started tossing a salt shaker between her hands, shifting it into a circular motion close to juggling.

"Ummm... The chrove is a girl." Calli said, not wanting to lie to family. "They really are very nice. The boys are a bit weird but Balder and Winston are benny."

She added the pepper shaker to her small routine, tumbling it about with its salty mate. She always seemed to get more active when she was digging a hole for herself.

"The ... chrove?!" Tristaanian's face turned incredulous, "So, you're the only fair rosh in a crowd of rowdy Old Rose circus kovs?"

He frowned a little, hooking a thumb in the wide belt around his waist, regarding the girl with genuine concern on his rugged features, "I sure hope you weigh the dangers of that before you go driftin' from your family, Calli. If they're all benny and safe, then I wouldn't see the harm in stretching your wings a little ... but if they're not ..."

He raised an eyebrow to imply something dangerous, then smiled a little so as not to appear overly threatening, "Maybe I should meet the kovs – c-check them out for you." He flexed under his loose linen shirt, winking roguishly, "You know. Let them know you have ... family."

Endo leaned forward, elbows on the table and chin resting in the cup of his hand. He watched Calli's antics with he shakers as if it she were performing surgery.



He glanced at Tristaanian and smiled, though the smile was hidden by his hand.

"It sounds like you haven't been at the circus long. When are you next performing?" He said slowly, his pronunciation clear but an obvious delay between what he thought and what was spoken. His dialect was standard Estuan, uncoloured by jargon or inflection but with a faint Bastian accent. Probably the most well-spoken pirate in Old Rose.

Calli, of course, latched onto the least pertinent part of Tristaan's argument.

"I'm not drifting! For serious! I'll just be travelling on my own for a while." Calli tried to look earnest as she shifted the shakers hand over hand, "I'll probably see even more Crows like you guys this way! I'd never give you all up."





"I'd love for you all to meet them!" Calli said with renewed enthusiasm, proud of her family and always enjoying the chance to introduce them to her friends. "I only just joined up, I don't even know when our first show is gonna be. We're practicing on the tenth though, at the beach."

Calli looked around for someone taking orders.

"Hey, do you kovs want I should grab a menu from over there?" She asked, waving her hand in the direction of the vendor. "I don't know if they have anyone on the floor today."

She tossed the shakers in the air and caught them again deftly. A little pepper fell through the air and made her sneeze.